The Little Book of Hygge Review

My New Year’s resolution for 2017 was to be more happy and positive – to really take stock of the smaller pleasures in life. It always seems to me that we’re all chasing this dream, to achieve this unattainable level of perfection and this year, I decided that I’d live exactly how I want to live and do whatever makes me happy. In my quest to reiterate this, I came across The Little Book of Hygge and I’m keen to put what I’ve read and learnt into practice – who knows, you may even take something from it too!

Ask anyone who the happiest people are in all the world and the answer will ALWAYS be…the Danes! They swear that the reason behind this is hygge (pronounced hoo-ga, I believe!) Hygge is a broad term and consists of a variety of things, including taking pleasure in the cosy things surrounding us e.g. candles or reading a book whilst wrapped in a blanket. But hygge can also mean eating comforting food or spending quality time with friends. Each individual will have an idea what hygge translates to them, but the principles will always remain the same.

I’ll give you an example. My husband and I love to cook together. We make a lot of dishes from scratch, it’s healthier, cheaper and means we spend quality time together. We chat about our days, any news that we need to share with each other regarding family or friends or generally talk about what’s been in the news. This is a perfect example of hygge – cooking good food (well, I enjoy it anyhow!) whilst spending time with a loved one.

We also love snuggling up on the sofa together after a hard day of work. I have a purple blanket, that I’ve had since I went off to university and every night, it comes out and a candle is lit. This is hygge in itself but add a cup of tea and some chocolate to the mix, then you really are making the most out of hygge!

I love the book. I absolutely love it. The book may be small in size, but it sure is big on advice. I’ve learnt a great deal and since reading have significantly improved my quality of life. I’m not a huge fan of self-help books. I feel that they’re a bit preachy and tend to tell rather than advise.

Not only is the advice fantastic, but the illustrations and hygge inspired recipes are brilliant. I’ve already passed the book on to my husband and mother-in-law so there’ll be no doubt more people wondering how to get the hygge into their lives. Why not give it a read? It won’t take you long but what you will read will last a lifetime.